Saturday, April 20, 2013

Just call me Mrs. Draper

So, here she is! My finished Mad Men Challenge dress. If you read my post, or follow me on Instagram (everfive), it's probably obvious to you which dress I decided to replicate, but in case you missed it, here was my inspiration. I hear most people say that now that the show is moving into the late sixties, they don't enjoy the fashions as much. I am so different, I LOVE the styles! The makeup, hair, clothes... I die.

I know that I may be in the minority, but I don't hate Megan. She's not perfect, but is anyone on that show? I was hoping she'd be good for Don...and maybe she still will be. As for Don, I can't help it. He's an asshole and obviously a horrible husband but I adore him. I mean, that man has issues but he came by them honestly. And he's so dreamy. Oh, and if you saw the episode last week, then you know what I mean when I say, "Go TRUDY!!"

Now, onto the dress. Once I picked which dress I was going to replicate, I immediately started looking for a pattern for a decent shift dress. I studied these pictures like my life depended on it. I needed a shift with back shaping that would not flare out at the bottom. When Colette Patterns released Laurel, I knew I found what I needed.

For the fabric, it was obvious I needed something with some weight to it. I went to the fabric store to compare fabrics and decided on this cream gabardine. I also purchased olive green gabardine and coral linen, since it was the closest I could find in the color I needed. I ended up trading out the green gabardine for some scraps I had left over from this skirt since the color was a better match. It's a stretch cotton sateen, but I sewed it wrong side out (to eliminate sheen).

Once I had all that in my greedy little hands, I started experimenting. I traced off a smaller size than I normally wear because I knew I needed less ease than the original pattern was designed for. I sewed together quite a few muslins trying to test my colorblocking. There was a lot of cursing, I won't lie.

The bust darts were proving a problem and I made a decision to convert them to french darts. In the back, I had to chop through the top of the back darts for the bottom stripe of coral. I just closed up the dart in the stripe and redrew the dart starting a little lower and ending a little lower. This worked out really well. The whole dress is lined in a coral satin that I'm going to admit I purchased mainly for the color. I had planned on inserting a back zip, but the thought of fiddling with all those stripes to match scared me off. The dress slips over my head just fine, so I took the easy way out and eliminated it.

I went with a more military style button. I could have chosen the round gold ones that Megan's original dress has but I really hate gold and I was hoping the military ones would make it less dated. They weren't the best buttons to pick because of the shank, but I still like the look.

So, I'm pretty proud of this. This was my first time attempting colorblocking and I feel I was pretty successful. It's not perfect. I won't point out specifically what bothers me, except to say my french darts aren't perfectly executed and pressed.

Alterations: I sliced up the top to colorblock it, I also converted the bust darts to french darts. Eliminated the zip and sleeves, fully lined dress.

This project has absorbed most of my creative thoughts for the past two months. I had so much fun making this dress, I almost don't know what to do with myself now that it's all finished! Actually, I know exactly what I'll be doing with myself...Me Made May :)

28
comments:

Guurrrrrrl, this is amazing! I knew from seeing pics on Instagram that you had something special there, but the finished product just blows me away. It was worth the cursing, I assure you!! I can't believe this is a Laurel. Yet another version that's inspiring to me. I just won one in a raffle and it's on its way, so I'm really excited about trying it out. And I think Megan is a great character. She's confident and strong, not afraid of anything or anyone, smart, etc. etc. I think she's a refreshing character on that show. This season has obviously gotten off to a bad start for her but in the end I believe she will still be true to herself and be awesome. And have a killer wardrobe. :)Speaking of which, YOU are awesome, and this dress is killer. Congrats on all of your hard work. Shelley

Yeah, you nailed it. I too knew it looked amazing when you Instagrammed it. And those colors with your hair, it's just perf. I dare say the best Mad Men challenge dress I've seen yet. But then again, I'm like you-- 60s fashion FTW!

I was nervous about trying the Laurel because it looks to short for me (5'10"ish), but it looks like a good length on you. (I know length is an easy fix, but I could also buy a less short pattern and not have to fiddle with that). So Laurel is winning me over, I KNEW I should've gotten it when it was 15% off.

PERFECT copy cat of the Mad Men dress! The dress fits you so well, too, just like a shift should. Skimming your figure, but not tent-like. I am really impressed about that. I am doing my first ever muslins on this pattern and still don't have the fit quite right. Today should be the day I get to cut into my fabric, though. Pretty hair by the way.

Wow, thanks Elisha! That's quite a compliment, I appreciate it so much!

Lengthwise, I think it could work for you. I'm 5'5" and as you can see, I made a very deep hem to match Megan's...it was maybe 3 in? There was a lot to work with...so if you don't mind it a bit on the mini side you can probably get away with no alterations.

Thank you so much! I did have to cut the pattern a size smaller than my normal Colette sz. The ease was quite generous. I also had to straighten the hip curve a bit and my CB SA is increased substantially, but that seems to be the norm when dealing with Colette Patterns for me. :)

Thanks, Sue! I'm still thinking we need to get together for either fabric shopping or pursuing vintage. Would it be dorky if we both wore our Mad Men dresses? Yes, it probably would but it would make for some good blog pictures! Haha! ;)

Love it!! You did a great job emulating Megan's dress and adding your own special elements (I dont like gold either). I also think the pull-over element is fantastic, I'm always way more inclined to wear dresses I can slip on and off easily. Well done!

Ahhh, this is my first time visiting over here and I LOVE this! I'm a fan of the late 60's fashion, too! And, of course, of Mad Men. This dress is beautiful, and I love that it just slips over your head, I would not have realized it could be this well-fitted AND manage that! You look stunning.